1966 World Series Press Pass

A few weeks back I posted a press pass from the 1960 World Series games at Yankee Stadium. That was fine and dandy and I am glad to have it but for me, there was an item in that same vein that I thought would be even cooler. And as luck would have it I found one just days later:

The 1966 World Series is obviously near and dear to my heart. It was the first championship won by one of  'my' teams. The Colts titles of the late fifties came when I was about 7 or 8 and while I was aware of them I was too young to really appreciate them as a fan.

But the '66 Series was different. For one thing, I was no longer at St. Mary's School where the nuns always had TVs set up to watch the Series every fall. No, I was a high school freshman that year. Luckily for me the first two games, though played on weekday afternoons, were held in Los Angeles. That meant I could sprint home, throw my Newark Evening News paper route and make it back in time to see much of the action at my best friend and route partner's house.

The weekend games I watched with my father who still couldn't get past the fact that the Yankees were two years removed from a Series engagement. Games 3 and 4, by the way, took 1:55 and 1:45(!). Imagine that...a World Series game being completed in a Whitey Ford-ish one hour and forty-five minutes. Amazing!

Like that 1960 pass, I'd like to get this one signed by a player from each team. Or maybe just some Orioles. In a perfect world I'd send it to Sandy Koufax and Brooks Robinson but Sandy doesn't sign through the mail and Brooks is having some health issues and while he signs I feel like I'd be imposing. We'll see.

Meanwhile here are a few items from my collection that feature players who were on the field for the '66 Series. Palmer looks so young! And he's aged pretty well.

Topps Giants Koufax.

The Dexter Press postcard of Davey Johnson.

TCMA something or other of Ron Fairly. As a former first baseman, I'm partial to cards which show those gloves so prominently.

Brooksie! Topps Standup from 1964. What a cool set. I've thought about collecting all 77 of these but I have far too many irons in the fire right now.

1970 Maury Wills. The early 60s 'mystery man' who was the topic of endless speculation among my fell card freaks in St. Mary's schoolyard. We wondered what he had done that was so terrible that Topps wouldn't include him in their sets.

I like this pic. A boatload of talent, no? I saw Frank Robinson and Sandy K. and later noticed that Wade Boggs and Cal Jr. are right there as well. How'd you like to be able to listen to that conversation?

1960 World Series Press Pass

 Have you ever bought something because it was a bargain even if you had no need for it? In that vein, I present this 1960 World Series Press Pass. This was a $35 impulse buy on Net54. I'm not even sure what the impulse was exactly but when it was posted I checked eBay and saw things like this going for $150 and up. I sent the seller an 'I'll take it' message and figured I'd decide what to do with it later.

I do have an affinity for the '60 World Series. That year was the first I remember that we watched the Series on televisions at school. And I definitely remember rushing home to watch the end of Game Seven with my mother. What a game!! Here is the defining moment:

The back of the pass had a couple of (very sticky!!) glue strips, probably from being mounted in a display. I temporarily covered them with blue tape until I find a better way to deal with them.

Once I had it in had I decided that I'm going to send it off to be signed by one player from each of the two teams. I'm thinking of Bobby Shantz and Vern Law, both reliable signers.

Two fun facts about the 1960 Series... Game Seven is the only postseason game ever with a single strikeout... and Bobby Richardson is the only player in World Series history to be named MVP despite being on the losing team. He went 11 for 30 with a dozen RBIs.

Tapes of the first six games of the Series are long gone but singer/actor Bing Crosby, a part owner of the Pirates at the time, had the game taped and that video was found decades later in his wine cellar. If you have an hour and a quarter to spare check the last three crazy innings of one of the most iconic games in baseball history: